Tripod

A tripod is a piece of equipment frequently used for both photography and filming. They are a portable stand with 3 legs (tri = 3) which a camera can be fixed to in order to stabilise it and support it without being held. The issue with holding a camera to film or photograph is that it is quite difficult for a person to remain totally still so the shaking appears in the media recorded. This is particularly the case for filming 📹.

In addition, if someone wants to film themselves when alone they need to set up the camera on a stand. When recording a time lapse it is also necessary to use a tripod or other stationary support, or when taking a photo at night which requires a long exposure.

Tripods come in a variety of shapes, sizes and designs. For conciseness I’m going to sometimes write “filming” when referring to both photography and video, though there are differences.

Photo Tripod

Standard photo tripod which can be large and heavy or light and portable.

There are even table top ones effective for filming miniatures (stop motion) or when a full size tripod is too bulky to carry. The catch with a standard photo tripod is that it doesn’t pan smoothly for video.

Fluid-head tripod

This is mostly identical to photo tripods. However, the head (top that rotates) is designed to move smoothly making for smoother pans in video.

Gorillapod 🦍

A gorillapod is another type. Whereas a tripod has 3 rigid legs, a gorillapod has flexible multijointed legs designed to wrap around surfaces enabling filming where a flat surface may be unavailable or the angle does not suit. For example a small gorillapod can be wrapped around the top of a railing to take photos. Just don’t let it fall! Remember to keep hold of the camera and use the strap.